Where Angels Abide
by ajfankeith
Summary: Another one-shot. Aaron has an accident and is in a bad way; but he has a guardian angel watching over him!


Where Angels Abide

-O-

_DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV_

-O-

Aaron awoke, disorientated and groggy. He was lying on a grassy slope under a clear blue sky. It was warm, the bright sunshine illuminated the beautiful scene before him; a lush green valley lined with trees as far as the eye could see. He thought it odd that, only minutes earlier; or so it seemed, he was on a country road in midwinter.

"Where am I?" he asked himself, he was unnerved to realise that he was lost and did not know how he had arrived in this place.

"Where do you think you are?" said a familiar voice behind him.

"Jackson?" Aaron gasped, immediately recognising the owner of the voice. He sat up and turned to see a figure standing a few feet away; the sunlight was in his eyes, so he could not make out the features of the person standing there. But, there was something odd about him; he was dressed in white from head to toe; a brilliant white which did not look natural. Also, there seemed to be an aura around him; a glowing outline which surrounded his frame.

"Yes, it's me!" replied Jackson.

"But, how? You are..."

"Dead?"

"Yes, sorry; that sounds wrong, I mean, I'm talking to you; you are standing right in front of me," Aaron rose to his feet to face Jackson.

"Do you know where you are now?" Jackson asked.

"No, tell me, please!"

"My dear Aaron, you are sometimes a bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Jackson grinned; his teeth looked whiter than Aaron could ever remember.

Realisation began to dawn on Aaron, "No, it can't be...heaven?"

"Close!" replied Jackson, "This is the gateway to eternity. You are not supposed to be here; you shouldn't be due to come back to me yet. I must have slipped up somewhere."

"Jackson, you're not making any sense!"

"Sorry, I know this is all a bit strange for you. I've been watching over you, but you can sometimes give me the slip; you do dash about so!"

Aaron started to get agitated. He still did not understand where he was, or how he arrived here. He was also disturbed that Jackson was here, talking to him; how was that possible? "I don't know what you're playing at; why won't you just give me a straight answer!"

"When was I ever straight?" Jackson chuckled, "I told you, you're at the gateway to eternity. Weren't you listening?"

"I am dreaming; that's it!" surmised Aaron, "I'll wake up in a minute." He closed his eyes and, when he opened them, Jackson was gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

Chas found Paddy sitting in the waiting area at Hotten General.

"Paddy!" she shouted as she approached him, "How is he?"

"Aaron's in theatre now," Paddy replied, "they are doing all they can, he's quite badly injured."

"Oh God!" Chas looked pale, "When can I see him?"

"I don't know; I expect we'll have to wait for more news."

"How did it happen?" Chas asked.

"He crashed on the Robblesfield road; must have been icy. I know it does get pretty treacherous along there this time of year."

"Why was he driving along there?"

"He was trying out some old banger, apparently."

"I bet Cain was behind it, the car was probably a write-off! I could murder him sometimes."

"It was lucky a farmer was passing in his tractor," Paddy continued, "At least the ambulance got there quite quickly."

xxxxxxxxxx

"Jackson? Jackson, where are you?" Aaron was still disorientated; one minute he was talking to Jackson, or so he thought; the next, Jackson had disappeared.

"I'm right behind you," Jackson's voice returned.

Aaron turned around to see the glowing figure of Jackson again. "How did you do that?" he queried.

"It's easy, I'll show you one day."

"Where have you been?"

"Sorry, I had to go. I'm not really supposed to be here; but an exception is made for those in love."

"You're talking in riddles again!" Aaron frowned.

"Sorry, I'll explain. This gateway is where all new arrivals come; and, if someone they love is already here, the gate opens to allow them to meet. So, here I am, but something's wrong; you shouldn't be here!"

"Does this mean I'm...?"

"Dead? No; not yet anyway. Something bad has happened to you, but you're not dead. That's why you're being held here at the gateway, you can't go further until you pass to the other side."

Aaron put his hands to his head, "I can't make sense of all this! Wait, I remember now; I was on the Robblesfield road, I skidded; I was heading for a tree...Oh God!"

"Now you're getting somewhere," Jackson said reassuringly, "You're beginning to understand why you've come here."

"Because I'm dead!" Aaron sounded almost relieved.

"No, you are close; but not there yet."

"When I do die, I'm probably headed for the other place anyway!" Aaron pointed downwards.

"No; never!" Jackson corrected him, "You're not a bad person; not bad enough to end up there, anyway!"

"But I've done bad things! I've stolen, beat people up, I killed you!"

"No, you didn't. I wanted to die; you helped me do it; there's a difference. That's the most unselfish and ultimate act of love one person can show to another. You saved me from a living hell; I am free now; I can feel; walk; fly; and it's all thanks to you."

"I miss you so much!" Aaron's tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"I know; I can feel your emptiness; your loneliness. But that's just an earthly thing; one day, we'll be together forever," Jackson's words soothed Aaron.

"When I die, you mean?"

"When it does happen; yes. Meeting here proves that the love we have is pure and strong..."

Jackson's image faded away into thin air. Aaron stood rooted to the spot; his eyes still searching in the hope that Jackson would reappear.

xxxxxxxxxx

A middle-aged male doctor approached Chas and Paddy, "Are you here with Aaron Livesy?" he asked.

"Yes," they both chorused together.

"How is he?" asked a worried Chas, "I'm his Mum," she added when the doctor looked at her quizzically.

"Well, we've done all we can for now, we've stopped the internal bleeding and he's stabilised, but he's still in a coma."

"Can we see him?" asked Paddy.

"Yes, of course," replied the doctor.

Chas and Paddy sat by Aaron's bedside. He was hooked up to tubes and was wearing an oxygen mask and had bandages around his head and torso.

"I can't lose him, Paddy," Chas was weeping, looking at the broken body of her son, "He's so young, so much of life ahead."

"I know," Paddy put his arm around Chas' shoulders, "but he's strong, he'll pull through; he's a fighter!"

Suddenly, a machine at Aaron's bedside started beeping and a nurse and doctor came running into the room.

"What's wrong?" cried Chas, but, without an answer, she and Paddy were ushered out of the door.

"What's happening?" Chas asked Paddy.

"Don't worry," Paddy sought to reassure a panic-stricken Chas, "they know what they're doing!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Aaron continued to look for Jackson. As if by magic, he appeared before him once more, at first a ghostly vision but gradually looking more solid; but still with an unearthly glow surrounding him.

"You haven't gone back yet then," Jackson smiled at Aaron, "you must really want to be with me."

"Of course I do, can you ever doubt it?"

"No, I know you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you. But it's still not your time, you must go back, Chas and Paddy are waiting for you."

"But, I'd rather be with you," Aaron's blue eyes were filled with tears.

"I know; and you will be. Go back home, your time on Earth is not done. When the time is right; we will have all eternity to be together."

"When the time is right? Can you tell me when?"

"No, I don't know; any more than you do. Patience, my precious one! We will be together one day; eternity is no barrier to love. I will be waiting for you..."

"Jackson!" Aaron cried out his lover's name as the apparition faded once again. Suddenly, he was plunged into an inky blackness which seemed to chill his bones.

xxxxxxxxxx

The doctor appeared from the room and looked at Chas and Paddy. "Aaron's heart stopped, but we've got him back again. He's come round now, would you like to go in?"

Without answering, Chas and Paddy re-entered the room to see Aaron lying with his eyes open. Chas could hear him saying something and bent down to listen more closely.

"Jackson!" Aaron was saying softly.

"Aaron, its Mum here sweetheart," Chas tried to comfort her son.

"Mum?" Aaron looked confused, "Where's Jackson?"

"Don't you remember, love? Jackson's gone."

"No, he isn't," Aaron said slowly, "He's waiting for me; he'll wait for me forever."


End file.
